Skin
by itsalesharae
Summary: Story based of the song Skin  Sarah Beth  by Rascal Flatts. Follow Clare through her struggles of developing a terrible health condition, Cancer. Will she make a few friends along the way that will help her stay strong, who knows. Read "Skin" to find out.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first ever fanfic. **

**So please review and tell me what you think. **

**This story is based off the song Skin (Sarah Beth) by Rascal Flatts.**

** I would like to thank my beta reader: Allie alliefalfa on twitter, check her out she is awesome! **

**I really hope all of you like this story!**

**I don't own degrassi, but I do own alot of random t-shirts I dont even wear. **

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><p>Chapter one<p>

Clares POV

How I love summer, the warm breezes and cool nights. So far summer is going perfectly, I've got to spend every moment with Alli and Adam and away from my fighting parents. I swear

they don't ever stop arguing. As soon as they both get home from work they're down each other's throats; with nonstop fighting and yelling. It gets old and they never listen to me. As of

now I'm sitting on my bed reading and listening to the constant backdrop of bickering and argument. I feel my phone vibrate next to me and look at the text message I've received from

Adam:

"Party tonight, Alli & I will pick you up in 30 mins. Get ready!" – Adam

'Great' I thought to myself, I closed the book I was currently reading and got off my bed to go look into my closet for something to wear. My phone went off again and I quickly went to

check it.

"Wear something cute, not just a plan old t-shirt, Clare!" –Alli

I chuckled to myself and went to my closet and pulled out a simple navy tank top and some khaki shorts and went to my bathroom I combed my hair and put some light makeup on. After a

few minutes I was ready to go. I went downstairs and my parents still hadn't stopped fighting, I decided I couldn't take it anymore I quickly yelled "I was going out for a little bit," and I went

outside to wait for Alli and Adam. Five minutes later they pulled into my driveway and I quickly hopped into the back seat.

"Hey guys," I said happy to be finally out of the hellhole that I call home. "Hey Girly," Alli replied back happily, "Sup?" Adam responded. "Whose party are we going to?" I asked. Adam was

quick to reply with "Fiona's!" Alli giggled, "Adam's got a big crush on this girl!"

"Shut up Alli, or you can walk yourself to the party," Adam threatened. "Normally I would take you up on your offer, but see your hot step brother is going to be there and I really don't want

to miss a chance to dance with him this summer," Alli replied cockily. "Clare, please tell her Drew is not hot!"

"Hey! I'm not joining this argument." I replied and with that the argument ended. Soon after we arrived to Fiona's house and all of our jaws dropped. The house was gorgeous, everything

looked expensive, not to mention it was huge. You could feel the bass of the loud music and hear a bunch of teens chatting about. Adam quickly rang the doorbell and a very pretty girl

opened the door and greeted Adam with a hug. "Hello Adam. Hi Clare and Alli, welcome to my house the party is in the back, and I'll show you the way." Fiona greeted nicely. We all followed

Fiona outside to her backyard were we saw almost all of Degrassi's student body partying it up. Fiona soon left to greet other guests. "I'm going to go find Drew," Alli said as she sashayed

into the crowd of bodies grinding on each other. Adam and I stood there and watched the other teens dancing. "Gross," Adam said. "If it was Fiona and you dancing like that you wouldn't be

talking like that," I replied. "Shut up, Clare. Wanna go party with the rest of them?" Adam asked. I replied sure and we joined the swarm of hot sweaty bodies and so we did, this started the

perfect night.

The party was just getting started as the sun began to set. Adam, Fiona, Drew, Alli, and I were dancing the night away. I was really enjoying myself and having a good time dancing with my

best friends. The music was loud and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

"There's this boy over there that keeps checking you out as you dance, Clare." Alli told me.

"Where?" I asked completely curious. Alli pointed in the direction of a raven haired boy with piercing green eyes dancing with some blonde girl, who seemed to be enjoying the dancing more

than he was. Alli caught his glance and gestured for him to come over to where we were. He walked over towards us and my heart started to beat really fast. Alli was the first to talk, "I saw

you staring at my friend here and you looked bored with your dancing partner so I figured you could use a new one and since she doesn't have one, it works both ways." I mentally groaned

at Alli, she was going to pay for this. But at the moment this boy was cute, and it was kind of awkward to be dancing by myself. He talked first, "Hi, my names Eli, what's your name?"

"C-Clare," I tried to reply smoothly but I ended up stuttering. "Well, Clare. Would you like to dance with me?" Eli asked. I replied to him yes, because I didn't want to be rude. Eli was a very

good dancer. He didn't try anything on me and was polite. He twirled me around a few times and I was actually having a great time, thanks to Alli. As he was twirling me, he pulled me in

close and said, "Clare you one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen," then twirled me back out. I could feel my cheeks starting to burn with a bright red blush and I sort of turned away. Soon

a faster song came on and I did something not very saintly, and I started to grind on Eli. He placed his hands on my hips and we swayed to the beat. Alli was smiling wide at me, I knew that

I was going to get a whole long talk about this, but at this moment I didn't really care. I was having way too much fun. Shortly after, one of my favorite slow songs turned on, _I'll Be_. Eli put

his hands around my waist and I put my hands around his neck, we started to sway back and forth and I laid my head on his shoulder. "This is one of my favorite songs," Eli whispered into

my hair. I swear I could've stayed like that for forever, but my phone started to ring multiple times, I quickly pulled it out of my pocket and saw that my mom was calling me. I answered to

a screaming mother.

"CLARE WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Mom, I'm at a party with Alli and Adam." I replied.

"GET HOME NOW OR YOUR GROUNDED FOR FOREVER!" She screamed at me through the other line and then hung up. "Eli, I have to go. I'm so sorry. I had a ton of fun!" I said and quickly

ran off to go find Alli and Adam. I soon found them slow dancing with their crushes and "Alli, Adam, we got to go! My mom just called me screaming at me to get home, and if I don't get

home I'm grounded for life!" Alli and Adam quickly said their goodbyes and we started hurrying towards the house. We were going up the stairs to get into the house and I tripped and fell

real hard on my knee, it hurt so much. "SHIT!" I screamed out in pain, but I quickly stood up and kept moving because I had to get home or else my life would turn completely terrible.

That night was one of the greatest nights of my life, and that began the night we all would never forget. It was the beginning of something bigger than all of us would have ever expected.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a merry christmas! here's chapter two of skins(:

Review and enjoy

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><p>Chapter two<p>

Eli's POV

She just ran off. Gone like the wind, never to be seen again. 'I didn't even get her number.' I said in my head. The girl of my dreams here and gone one second, I couldn't

stand seeing her leave so quickly. I went home; I had zero need to be a party full of other girls that didn't fill my interest at all anymore now that I had met her. I made my way

up to the steps and through the house and out to my hearse, Morty. I started the engine and drove home recalling all the events that had happened in the past hour and a half.

She was beautiful and outgoing and had short auburn curls that shaped her face, big blue eyes and full lips that I couldn't wait to kiss, if I ever got the chance. Her blush was

one of the cutest things about her, she was a great dancer. Clare made my heart skip a beat. She made my jaw drop, and her I am lusting over a girl whose phone number I

don't even have. I arrived home and went up to my bedroom. I stripped down to my boxers and went to bed dreaming of what could've happened if Clare wouldn't have left so

quickly.

I woke up the next morning determined to find Clare or at least get her phone number. I hopped into the shower, got dress and went downstairs to eat breakfast. Cece, my

mom, greeted me with chocolate chip pancakes. "What's got you down, baby boy?" Shit, why does my mom have to be able to tell when I'm in a bad mood? "Nothing mom. I

just met this girl last night, she was amazing but I didn't get her phone number." I shrugged. "Then you better get out there boy, you don't have all day, but eat your breakfast

first," Cece replied. I shoveled the hot pancakes down my throat and ran out to my hearse and called my cousin Fiona. The phone kept ringing and my anticipation grew. Finally

after the fourth ring she answered a groggily, "Hello?"

"Hey, Fiona I need you to do me a huge favor." I said hastily. When she didn't reply right away I continued what I was saying. "Do you have Clare's number?" Fiona replied

instantly, "Are you talking about Clare Edwards, Curly brown hair, blue eyes, short? If so yes, if you're talking about a different Clare than I don't. Why?"

"Because last night, at your party, she and I spent awhile dancing together, and she had to leave abruptly and I didn't get her number. I feel like we had a lot in common and I

really want to see her again. She has been running through my head and I can't get her out. I've got to have her number. Please Fi, I'm begging you!" I said knowing that I got

her with the last line. "Only because you begged you're getting this number. I'll text you the number, Elijah." Fiona replied. I mentally groaned from her calling me Elijah. I got

Fiona's text message, and I added it to my phone and sent Clare a text message.

"Clare, it's me Eli from last night. I had a great time. Why did you run off?" –Eli

I sat in my car waiting for her to text back it seemed like it has been forever and a day, but in all actuality it's been like 5 minutes. Finally my phone began to vibrate in my

hands.

"Hey, Eli. I'm so sorry I rushed out on you last night, my mom decided to stop screaming at my dad for once and start screaming at me for once. What's up?" –Clare

I really wanted to hang out with her. I wanted to get to know her better. "Clare, do you want to hang out? I'll come pick you up." –Eli. I instantly regretted sending that text

message, I didn't want to seem like I was coming on to strong or that I was some kind of real creep. My phone began vibrating again and I unlocked it and checked the text

message.

"Sure, sounds like a good time. Does a half an hour work for you? My address is 345 Marks St." –Clare. I pulled onto the road and headed towards the direction where her

house was. Her house was easy to find, and it only took me about five minutes to get there. I got of the car quickly and went and knocked on the front door. The door opened

and her mom, I'm guessing it was her mom, answered the door. "Hello? Who are you?" She asked me looking over at my dark wardrobe and giving me a dirty look. I quickly

brushed off her judgmental stare and said, "Is Clare home? Were supposed to be hanging out?" She gave me a strange look than a moment later yelled for Clare that someone

was here for her. Soon I saw Clare standing at the door smiling at me, and I couldn't but feel extremely happy. "Hi." She said and stepped out of her house. "Hey, how's it

going?" I asked. "I'm good, glad to get out of that house! So where are we going?" She said giddily. "I was thinking about going to The Dot, does that sound good? Have you

ever been there?" I rambled suddenly nervous. "The dot's fine, Eli," Clare said. I opened the hearse door for her and got in on my side and started the car. Something was off

with Clare, "You don't like Morty, do you?" I asked jokingly. She smiled and lightly laughed. "You named your car?" "First off its not a car, it's a hearse, and Morty deserves a

name he has character!" I said seriously but I busted out laughing. Clare started laughing too, her smile was beautiful, and she was just beautiful. Once our laughing subsided I

looked down and saw a gigantic swollen bruise on her knee. Curiosity got the best of me and I asked "Clare, where did you get that bruise?" Clare's smile slowly faded and she

simply said, "I fell, I'm fine." The atmosphere had changed to the point where it was almost awkward. Clare was the first to start laughing, I soon joined in, and soon the whole

car was booming with sounds of laughter.

The laughter subsided as we pulled into a parking spot in front of The Dot. Clare and I exited Morty, and walked up the stairs and I held the door open for her. She smiled

brightly at me and said, "Thank you." We sat down in a booth across from each other and began to look at the menu. The waiter soon came over and took our orders. Clare

ordered a strawberry smoothie, and I got an iced mocha coffee. We talked the whole time about our lives and I got to learn more about her. She had an older sister named

Darcy who lives in Kenya, she likes to read and write, her best friends are Adam and Alli, and she really enjoys music. I tried to keep my sarcasm to a minimum but it didn't

really work out. A few hours passed by and Clare said she probably should be getting home. I called the waiter over to bring the check; Clare refused to let me pay for her, even

though I insisted. She eventually gave in and we walked out to Morty. I started the engine and drove her back to her house. "I had a great time today." Clare said smiling wide.

"Me too," I replied. Clare leaned over and gave me a hug and then exited out of the hearse.

I drove home with the hugest grin on my face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guy's I hope your all having a wonderful day! **

**Disclaimer: I dont own degrassi or the movie the strangers. but I do own two season of degrassi on dvd (; **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Clare's P.O.V.

Two weeks later….

Two weeks had gone by since I went to Fiona's party, where I meet Eli. Meeting him had probably been one of the best things that has happened to me in a while. I was lying in bed, icing my swollen bruised knee thinking about the past two weeks. Good and bad thoughts had been running through my head. My phone vibrated beside me and I saw that the text was from Eli.

"What are you up to Clare?"- Eli

I replied back quickly gladly to be brought out of thought. "Not too much, just icing my knee."

"The bruise is still there?" –Eli

"_The bruise it just won't go away_. :(" –Clare

"I'm sorry do you want me to come over and keep you company? (;" –Eli

"Sure. See you soon." –Clare

God Eli is such a flirt. As we started hanging out more often, the flirtier he was towards me. I would hate to admit that I actually really enjoy it. At the moment Eli seemed to be the only friend that wanted to hang out with me recently, my two best friends now both had 'relationships' going on with other people and seemed to be busy for little ole me.

I was waiting for the doorbell to ring so I could get it before one of my parents did. Soon my eye lids began to droop and shortly I was sleeping. I felt someone nudging my shoulder awakening me from my sleep, "Clare, Clare wake up, Clare. C'mon wakey wakey ma' lady." I woke up to a pair of bright green eyes looking down at me, smirking. "Oh crap, Eli! I'm so sorry I feel asleep." I felt so embarrassed and I could feel my blush creep upon my cheeks. Why does Eli have to be so close to my face? I could feel my face growing hotter as the seconds ticked on.

"Clare, its fine. You're awake now so now we can hang out?" Eli asked. I smiled at him and began to crawl out of bed. "How long have you been here?" I asked him. "About twenty-five minutes. I didn't want to wake you, you looked so peaceful. Sorry." He confessed. It was his turn to blush and his cheeks turned to a shade of a light pink. "So, do you want to watch a movie?" I asked him. "Sure, but I get to choose the movie!" Eli replied. With that we hurried down the stairs to my living room. I pointed out where my DVD collection was and he squatted looking for a movie that he wanted to watch. Five minutes later he stood up holding out what he chosen.

"The Strangers, really Eli? I hate scary movies." I told him. "It's okay Clare, I'm here." He said winking at me. "Oh really? Like you're going to be able to help me." I said trying to stifle my laughter. "Ouch!" Eli said trying to sound hurt. I began to giggle than I bellowed with laughter. I got up from the couch and popped the DVD into the DVD player, while Eli made himself comfy on the couch. I joined Eli and the couch sitting on the opposite side. Why am I such a dumbass, why didn't I just sit closer to him. "Clare," he singsong. "I don't bite." Eli motioned for me to move closer to him. I scooted closer to Eli but not to close, no body parts were touching until Eli decided that I wasn't close enough to him and pulled me over closer. "Really Eli? What if I don't want to be right next to you?" I said. "But, I know you want to be right next to me!" Eli said mocking me. "Could you be more smug?" I wittily replied. "Absolutely!" He responded cockily. There was a loud bang coming from the TV screen and it pulled Eli and I from our flirty disagreement. Our attention was now on the movie that was going on in front of us and let's just say I was not into this whole scary movie thing. All I wanted was for it to be turned off. But that would not be happening anytime soon. I moved around trying to adjust myself so I could grab a blanket from the other end of the couch. I pulled the blanket up to my eyes, the scene playing was scary. The main girl character was going to the bathroom and as she was about to go out of the bathroom the shower curtain opened and someone in a mask grabbed her. I flinched beside Eli and he wrapped his arm around me. The rest of the movie I spent with my knees huddled to my chest and the blanket over my head. Eli nudged me and said "Clare, the movies over you can come out of your cave now." I chuckled and pulled the blanket down off of my head. I looked up and saw Eli smirking down at me. "What?" I said puzzled. "You're kinda cute when you're scared." Eli bluntly stated. I blushed for the second time today because of him. "Uh, t-thanks." I stuttered and looked away from Eli back to the TV screen which was now showing the ending credits. There was a short silence after Eli's comment. I soon grow the courage to look back at Eli I saw that he was no longer staring at my eyes but at something on my face. On the inside I began to freak out. Did I have something on my face? Why is he looking at me like that? What is he doing? I could see that Eli's face was moving closer to mine. I realized that there wasn't something on my face but that he was looking at my lips. My face was beginning to turn pink, and I leaned in. His face was so close that I could feel his warm breath on my lips teasing them, begging for the touch of his. Time felt like it was going painstakingly slow. Every second that ticked his lips moved closer to mine. Our lips were almost touching, so close if only I could just shift up onto my knees and I would be at perfect level. I tilted my head to the right and closed my eyes. BAM the door opened and closed. Eli and quickly leaned away. I jumped over to the other side of the couch. "Clare, are you home?" My mother shouted. "I'm in the living room, Mom!" I shouted back. "Oh! Hi Eli. Honey super is soon, if Eli wants to stay over for dinner that would be fine." She replied back nicely. "Thanks Mrs. Edwards, but I was just about to head out." Eli declined casually.

We said our goodbyes, which were extremely awkward. Then I walked into the kitchen and had supper with my mom. After super I helped her clean up and grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer. "Clare, has the swelling gone down?" Mom asked. "Not really mom, It really hurts too." I replied back honestly. "Honey, I'm going to make a call to the doctor for tomorrow to get that bruise checked out. Alright?" Mom said. "That sounds good Mom, thanks. I'm going to go to bed, Good night Mom." I said as I headed towards the stairs. "Good night Clare. Love you!" she said. "Love you too, Mom." I said and closed my bedroom door. I laid down on my bed and grabbed my cellphone from my nightstand to check if I had any text messages from Eli. There was nothing from him, but one from Alli. I quickly replied to her text saying:

"Hey, I need to talk to you. It's important!" –Clare. I waited for her reply. My phone soon vibrated next to me.

"Hey what's up?"- Alli

"Eli and I almost kissed tonight."- Clare

"That's a bad thing? Why?" –Alli

"It's not a bad thing, I just don't know if he likes me or not." –Clare.

"Then ask him, Clare bear." –Alli

"I'll get around to it, night Alli."- Clare

I put my phone back on my nightstand and tucked myself into bed. My mind wander of how to tell Eli that I liked him and what was going to happen tomorrow at the doctors. My eyes soon started to droop shut and I drifted off into a deep sleep.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to review. I will more likely update more often that way! <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone sorry for the delay of this chapter. I had writers block and it was extremely hard to write. I'm not exactly happy with the outcome of this chapter but I hope you all like it.**

**Disclaimer: I own a crap load of nail polish, but unfortunately not degrassi. **

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

Clare's POV

_"Hello Clare." Eli said as he smirked at me. I smiled at him and yelled to my mother goodbye. We made our way to his hearse. "Where are we going Eli?" I asked. "On an urban adventure, Clare!" He replied excitedly. Eli began driving and I turned on the radio, but didn't bother to change the station. I bopped my head to the beat excited for where we were going. I was just so happy to be spending time with him. I turned to find Eli looking at me and I could feel my face turning red. "Don't be worried Clare, this place is awesome! I love it there." He said. "I bet I will too then." I said. "Wanna play a game?" he asked. "Sure." I replied drawing the word out. "It's called the red light game." He said as we pulled up to a red light. "Okay?" I said as he leaned in. I could feel his warm breath on my lips. My breathing faltered as I leaned in too. Our lips were almost touching, just a few more centimeters and our lips would be touching…._

Beep. Beep. Beep. I mentally cursed my alarm clock for running my so realistic dream. I could've sworn it was real. Why couldn't it have been real? "Clare, get up we have that doctors appointment in forty-five minutes. I expect you down here and dressed in twenty minutes!" I got out of bed and took a quick shower. I pulled on some jean shorts and put on a random t-shirt. Then I went down stairs and had a bowl of lucky charms. Shortly after I finished my morning routine, my mom and I were ready to go to my doctor's appointment. We got into my mom's black Honda civic, and headed out to the doctor's office. On the drive to there, my mom and I made small talk and such. The atmosphere was light and simple.

We soon arrived at St. Luke's hospital, and walked into the pediatrics center. "My daughter, Clare Edwards is here for here 10:45 appointment." My mom told the receptionist. The receptionist nodded her hand and typed in something into the computer in front of her with a bored look on her face. "Doctor Chris will be with you soon. Please take a seat in the waiting room." The receptionist said in a nasally voice. My mom nodded and said "Thank you," as we walked towards the non-sick patient waiting room. My mom and I plopped down onto the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. She opened a people magazine and I grabbed my cellphone and decided to send out a tweet. 'I hate hospital waiting rooms! :P' A few minutes came and past. Soon a perky nurse came to the door and called my name "Clare Edwards!" I mentally groaned and said "I'm her." I got up off my chair and followed suit behind her down the bright white hall and into the room where I would be waiting for Dr. Chris to visit me. The nurse began asking me simple questions on how I feel and how my life has been recently. After all her questions, she leaves and tells me that the doctor will be in shortly.

I sit in the quiet room waiting for Dr. Chris to come and do his checkup. The minutes pass on and boredom soon over takes me. I grab one of the magazines and try to skim through it, but with no such luck. My head is a wild frenzy. It's gone in overdrive with thoughts of Eli and the outcome of this checkup and to be honest, I wish my brain would shut up. Suddenly there's a knock at the door. "C'mon in." I say, glad to have Dr. Chris in the room. "Hello Clare, how are you today?" Dr. Chris asks politely. I reply, "I'm fine, thank you. How are you?" "I'm well, thank you. So, Clare why are you here today?" he asks getting to the point. . I sigh deeply and tell him, "My mom called me in because of a bruise I have on my knee." Dr. Chris looks down at my knee and frowns. "Clare, how long has the bruise been there? How long has the swelling been going on also?" I had to think about that and then replied "I fell up some stairs while leaving a party, you know clumsy o'le me. It's been about two and a half weeks." A sudden look of worry flashed across Dr. Chris's face and he told me sternly. "Clare, you're going to need an x-ray to be done." I frowned and replied sadly "Alright." Dr. Chris got of his chair and he said "I'm going to go tell your mom; Nurse Katie will be in her in a few moments." Dr. Chris left the room and I suddenly felt extremely worried.

Shortly after Dr. Chris left, the bubbly nurse from before returned. "Hello Clare! I'm here to show you the way to the x-ray lab!" She said excitedly. I got out of the chair and followed her out of the room and down the hall to the lab. We reached the lab in less than five minutes and Nurse Katie told me that I would have to remove my clothing and jewelry and put on one of the hospital gowns. She showed me to the bathroom and told me Dr. Chris would be there in ten minutes. I quickly undressed and walked back out of the room and sat on the chair. The room was extremely chilly and I became uncomfortable waiting there in the room only wearing a hospital gown and undies. I sat there waiting for a long time. It felt like forever. Finally the door opened, and Dr. Chris appeared with my mother close behind. "Hello again. Okay, Clare I'm going to need you to go sit on that bed table over there." Dr. Chris told me. I went over to spot and sat down. Dr. Chris quickly began the x-ray process as I sat extremely still waiting for this all to be over and hoping for good news. Dr. Chris and my mom came out of the x-ray booth and told me that I could go get re-dressed. After I was back in my normal clothes, I came back to the room and Dr. Chris told my mom and I would call us when the x-rays came back.

The car ride home was silent and calm. My mother and I sat soaking up the only quietness we were possibly only going to get today because my father would be returning home from a business trip, and we both knew that he was going to be extremely angry. I couldn't wait to get home and relax and enjoy the last few hours of silence I'm able to enjoy before the madness of the screaming begins.

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><p><strong>Don't forget to Review! Thank you for reading, the next chapter should be up soon! (: Have a great day!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello Everyone! How are you all today? Your good? Thats great. I'm here with the fifth chapter of Skin. So degrassi has started again and I'm super happy, I was going to upload this on monday, but I was having writers block. I really like zaya but there over now. The cake sex talk was hilarious. Not much Eli tho. :( Anyways lets cut to the chase.. I now bring you the fifth chapter of Skin. **

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

Eli's POV

My mind has been filled with Clare since the night we almost kissed. I wanted so badly to lean in and press my lips to hers and never leave them, but I knew that wasn't

possible because she probably didn't like me anyways. I've been overthinking this whole situation, and all I want to do is call her, but I'm too nervous too. I sit down at my

desk and I decide to go on face range. I saw that Adam was online and I decided to chat him and see what he was up to. After talking for a little while, I decided to invite

him over to play video games, which he happily accepted. This was the perfect opportunity to get all these thoughts out of my head. I walked downstairs and into the

kitchen. "Hey Mom, I'm having Adam over to play video games, is that okay? I hope it is because he is already on his way over." I told her. "Sure, baby boy that's fine."

Cece replied. I walked into the living room and got my xbox set up and pulled out my 'shooting' games. The doorbell rang and I walked over to the door to find Adam

standing there holding battlefield 3. "Hey dude! You ready to pay?" He said excitedly as he held up the game in his hand. I let Adam in and we both walked into my living

room. "Hey, do you want anything to drink or eat?" I asked him. "Bro, I'm starving! What do you have?" Adam said, making himself at home on my couch. "We have coke

and lots of chips. Will that do?" I asked. "Hell yeah! I love coke." He said laughing at the double meaning. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed some sodas and a couple

bags of chips and went back into the room. "So let's pop this sucker in and get at this game!" I said grabbing the game out of his hand. I turned the TV on and put the

game into the system and grabbed the controllers and sat down. I handed Adam the other controller and the shootings began. Battlefield 3's graphics were freaking

awesome! The maps were made beautifully, the sound effects were loud and so realistic, and this game was overall way better than COD by far. The time spent with

Adam was exactly what I needed to clear my head.

Clares POV

Today was the day we would find out the results of the x-ray. I was extremely nervous to say the least. The home phone was ringing down stairs and she heard her

mother's voice answer the phone. "Hello, Edwards residence." She said. I could hear her voice changing from polite and happy to nervous and worried. "Okay, we will be

in a half an hour." My mother said as she hung up the phone. The stairs squeaked as my mother walked up the stairs and her footsteps were walking closer towards my

room. There was a knock at my door and I got out of my chair and opened it. "Hi Mom." "Hey Clare, we've got to go to the doctors again today honey." I frowned and

grabbed my purse and followed suit out of my bedroom and down the stairs, behind my mother. We walked out of the house and into to the driveway were we got in to

the car and began driving to downtown Toronto.

We reached the hospital and made our way up to the pediatrics wing. The same receptionist directed us to the non-sick waiting room. I was nervous and all I wanted todo

was text Eli but I didn't want to worry him. Time seemed to go on forever and all I wanted to do was receive the news Dr. Chris. Waiting is the worst, especially when you

don't know the outcome of everything. I took out my phone from my purse and checked to see if I had any text messages. Four from Alli, two from Adam, and 3 from Eli.

Three out of the four from Adam and Alli were both asking me too hang out. I replied to them and said maybe later tonight. Eli was just checking to see how I was and

was wondering what I'm up too. I replied to Eli that I was busy at the moment and put my phone back into my purse.

Nurse Katie walked through the waiting room door. "Hello, Clare. Dr. Chris is waiting for you. Your mom can come along too." My mom and I got out of uncomfortable

waiting room chairs and we walked through the door. I dreaded this walk, I didn't want to know. I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad is going

to come out of this meeting, otherwise why wouldn't they have told my mom on the phone. Suddenly we stopped in front of a door and Nurse Katie opened it. Dr. Chris

was sitting on a stool and his face showed no emotion. This made me even more nervous. I took a seat on one of the chairs next to my mother. "Hello Helen and Clare."

Dr. Chris said in monotone. "Hi." We replied in unison. "I'm going to get down to business, alright? Clare your x-rays didn't come out as good as we wanted them too." He

said. I nodded my head. "We're going to need to take some blood tests to make sure what we think we found in your x-rays are actually what we found." He calmly

replied. In my head I began to panic. What's wrong with me? Why won't Dr. Chris just tell me what's going on? "Okay are we going to go take those blood tests right

now?" I asked with a shaking voice. "Yes Clare. The sooner we get these tests done the sooner we can get this all figured out." Dr. Chris said seriously. "Okay, let's go

get those tests done." I said as I got up from the chair. Dr. Chris made a hand gesture to exit the room and my mother and I followed him out. We walked down to the

blood lab where I would be getting my blood drawn. "Clare, please sit on this chair and Katie will be in here to draw blood. Be patient." Dr. Chris said than he left the

room.

Time passed on and I was waiting for nurse Katie to return. To be honest, I hated getting blood drawn. Needles scared me and the thought of blood being taken out of

my arm made me feel all queasy. Time was passing way to slowly and all I wanted to do was get out of this room and go hang out with my friends. My mom noticed how

worried I've become. "Clare, everything is going to be alright sweetie." My mom said in a soothing voice. "M-mom I'm just scared. Why would they have us come back if it

wasn't good news?" my voice was trembling as I spoke. "Clare, everything's going to be alright." My mom said side-hugging me. I sat there with my lip trembling as she

whispered sweet nothings into my hair. We sat that way for a while until Nurse Katie came into the room. "Hello, again." She said. Nurse Katie took out a needle and a

tube and set them on the table beside a taller chair. "Clare, will you please take a seat in this chair?" Nurse Katie asked brightly. I took a seat in the chair and frowned.

"Clare, I've got to put this band around your arm." She said. The tight rubber band was placed around my elbow. She got the needle ready, and I began to panic. Did I tell

you I hate needles? Because ,yeah, I do. They scare the crap out of me. I waited for the needle to plunge into my arm. My mom grabbed my free hand, and she squeezed

it reassuringly. I smiled slightly at my mother. "Okay Clare, I'm going to put the needle into your arm now." Nurse Katie said calmly. I tried to remain calm, but a few tears

escaped down my face as she put the needle in my arm. A few moments passed and Nurse Katie took the needle out of my arm as she smiled brightly at me. She put an

electric blue band aid on my arm. "Okay, I'm done now Clare. I'm going to go bring these tests down to the lab; you can go back to the room." I got out of the chair and

followed my mother back to the room sleepily.

Once we made it back to the room I hopped onto the bed in the hospital room and fell asleep to the sound of extreme quietness. An hour or two passed by the time I

awoke from my slumber. My mom was talking to Dr. Chris and tears were streaming down her face as she silently cried. "Mrs. Edwards, we caught it just in time, but the

process is going to be long." He said. "What process?" I asked with a yawn. "Clare, I have bad news for you." Dr. Chris said with a frown. The pit of my stomach began to

feel uneasy as I motioned for Dr. Chris to continue. "I'm sorry to inform you, but between the red cells and white, something isn't quite right, but we're going to take care

of you." Dr. Chris said. "Clare you have a type of bone cancer known as Osteosarcoma. I'm sorry. We will start chemo right away." After those words escaped Dr. Chris's

mouth, my whole entire world came crashing down. The tears came pouring down my face, like I just turned on the faucet. "M-mom. I want to g-go ho-ome, now." I said in

between sobs. "Okay Clare, will go home." My mother said calmly as she pulled the car keys out of her purse. "Dr. Chris give me a call when you know when the first

chemo date is." My mother said curtly as she grabbed my hand and walked out the door. I felt like a little kid again with my mother's hand holding tightly onto mine. We

reached the car and I hopped into the passenger seat quickly buckling myself in. "Clare, everything's going to be alright." My mother said softly as she started the car.

The ride home was long and filled with awkward silence. I had no intention of speaking, I just wanted to deny what happened just a few hours ago. I can't have cancer,

how is that even possible? "Mom, Is it okay if I have Eli over?" I asked breaking the silence. "Sure Clare, if you would like too." I smiled sadly, "Thanks mom." The car

pulled into the drive way and I got out and walked into the house and into my upstairs bedroom. I grabbed my cellphone off of the charger and flipped through my

contacts to find Eli's number. I pressed the call button and put the phone up to my ear. "Hello?" He answered. "H-hey Eli, its Clare." I said between sniffles. I heard a low

deep chuckle from the other line "I know Clare. Caller I-D is a majestic." I could feel my face grow red with embarrassment from his comment. "I-I'm sorry." I said. "Clare,

what's wrong?" Eli said with a soft voice. "I need a friend right now Eli, can you please come over? I'll explain everything once you get here." I said as I tried to blink tears

away. "Clare I'll be over in fifteen minutes. See you soon," Eli said in a concerned tone. "Good bye." I said and hung up my cellphone. I jumped onto my bed and rolled

myself up into a ball and cried some more.

Eli's POV

I pushed the end button on my phone and walked downstairs. "Hey Mom?" I shouted. "In the kitchen, baby boy!" Cece shouted back. I walked into to find my mother

reading a Cosmo magazine. "Is it alright if I go over to Clare's? She really needs a friend right now." I said trying to sound casual. "Yeah, honey that's fine. Baby boy, you

really like her, don't you?" My mom asked smirking. "Y-yeah I guess you can say that I do." I said trying not to blush. "Alright have fun, take care of her. Call me if you need

anything." My mom rambled on. "Mom, I'm going to go now." I said as I backed out of the kitchen. "Alright bye baby boy." Cece said. I grabbed my car keys off the rack

and hurried out the front door. I opened the door to Morty and hopped into the driver's seat. The car started on down the street and as I pressed on the gas. Soon I

arrived my destination of Clare's house.

I parked Morty in front of Clare's house and got out of my car. I walked to the front door of the Edwards household. I rang the doorbell and Mrs. Edwards opened the

door. "Hello Eli." She said with red eyes. "Hello Mrs. Edwards. How are you?" I asked. "I'm alright Eli, thank you. Clare's up in her room. Why don't you head on up?" She

replied in a monotone. "Alright, thank you Mrs. Edwards." I said as I walked into their house. I headed up the stairs and towards Clare's bedroom. I knocked on her closed

door. "Go away!" Clare shouted. "Clare, it's me, Eli." I said. I heard a light pitter patter come towards the door. The door swung open showing a red faced Clare sniffling

and wiping tears away. I just wanted to hold her and kiss her till she felt better. "May I come in?" I asked lightly. She nodded and laid back down on her bed. I just stood

there watching her feeling like a creep. "Eli," She muffled into her pillow. "I have c-cancer." She gasped and sobbed loudly. I sat down on her bed and pulled her into my

arms. In that moment I didn't care if she didn't feel the same about me, the strong and brave girl, became fragile and weak in my arms and I felt the need to comfort her. I

could feel her tremble in my arms and I whispered sweet nothings into her hair. "Clare, I'll always be here for you." I said softly. She looked up me through her eyelashes.

"Eli, I l-like you, a-a lot, but I know you probably don't feel the same. So let's just pretend-d I n-never said that." She said sadly as she looked down at the floor. I felt bad

for feeling happy in such a sad moment. "Clare, look at me." I said. "I like you too." I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. I felt her smile sadly. I took this as an

advantage and lifted her chin upwards, and I kissed her softly on the lips. As we both pulled away, I could feel Clare relax in my arms. I sat her back down on the bed and

laid on the other side. We laid together on her bed, holding hands and sharing gentle kisses until her mother told me it was time to go home.

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><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to review! <strong>


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